Events & Training
AFBEA Quarterly Meetings
Next Meeting
September 7, 2022
Mesa Fire & Medical
708 W. Baseline Rd.
Mesa, AZ 85210
Enter off of Baseline - google maps sends you to back of building which does not have a general entrance
Mark Your Calendar
September 7, 2022 - 1:00pm Mesa
December 1, 2022 - 10:00am Northwest Fire Training Center
NFPA’s Steps to Safety™ Prevent Fire and Falls at Home - Train the Trainer
Course Dates: Wednesday, September 28
11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Older Adult Fire and Fall Prevention Train the Trainer Workshop
Lunch provided
NFPA’s Steps to Safety™ Prevent Fire and Falls at Home program pairs Fire/EMS with community partners to educate residents for home fire and fall safety delivered through group presentations, home visits, and the creation of a local resource network. Formerly titled Remembering When™, Steps to Safety has retooled for the changes in the social, physical, and technological landscape. It now includes an online professional training curriculum and a host of new digitized and print assets to support learning and behavior change across the older adult lifespan. The approach is one of collaboration, engagement, empowerment, and promoting independence. Rooted in fire and behavioral science and sound educational principles, STS provides the framework and tools for Fire/EMS and their health and social service partners to impact their community
Location: Mesa Fire Medical Department, 708 W. Baseline Rd, Coyote Room
Enter off of Baseline - google maps sends you to back of building which does not have a general entrance
Andrea G. Vastis, MPH
Meet the Instructor
Andrea Vastis is the Sr. Director of Public Education at the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), with oversight of fire and life safety and wildfire education efforts. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in K-12 Health Education from Rhode Island College and her Master of Public Health with a concentration in Social and Behavioral Sciences from Boston University. She has over 25 years of experience in public health education and programming spanning worksite wellness, government, academia, and healthcare. Her focus is on improving access to education and healthcare, eliminating health disparities, supporting the profession of fire and life safety education, and providing culturally relevant programming. Prior to joining NFPA in June of 2018, she was Sr. Manager of Pharmacy Product Development for Patient Care Programs at CVS Health. She lives with her husband Ken Carlson, their two daughters Lily and Shuwei, and dog Bubba in Seekonk, Massachusetts.
Upcoming Training
AZ Center for Fire Service Excellence Compliant
AFBEA offers Fire & Life Safety Educator I, II and Manager courses throughout the State of Arizona, several times a year. These courses comply with the NFPA 1035 Standard and currently also meet the criteria of the Arizona Center for Fire Service Excellence (AzCFSE) for Certificates of Completion. The AzCFSE is responsible for the day-to-day administration of Arizona Fire Service training and Fire Service certification processes.
Conferences/Symposiums
The Community Risk Reduction Through Characterization and Education Conference is usually held the last week of January each year and has been held annually in Bullhead City, Ariz. since 1987. Workshops are held to teach educators how to develop and design puppet and clown programs to enhance their local educational efforts. It has become so popular, it is now a ‘train-the-trainer” program, allowing the attendees to take their knowledge back to their communities and teach others who may be unable to attend. While the conference was established to assist with characterization development, we also feature a track for educators who need help with messaging, ideas for program enhancement and other professional development. So there is something for everyone!
The CRR Symposiums have replaced the Desert Southwest Fire and Life Safety Educators Conference and the Juvenile Firesetter and Injury Prevention/Juvenile Firesetter Conference. These one-day training opportunities offer the latest trends and programs for the Public Educator. The symposiums are designed to assist many levels of the Fire and Life Safety Educators — beginning, intermediate, or advanced — by giving usable tools to start a program or fine tune one already in place.
SAVE the DATE: Thursday, September 29, 2022 - more details soon!
New to Community Risk Management?
Here are a few recommended courses to get you started.
International Fire Service Training Association (IFSTA) & The Vision 20/20 Project - Essentials of Community Risk Reduction
U.S. Fire Administration (USFA) - Community Risk Reduction Courses
The CPSE‘s 10th edition of the Quality Improvement for the Fire And Emergency Services document, which is used by fire departments across the globe in their accreditation process, has a strong emphasis on Community Risk Assessment.
You can download the Crosswalk developed by Vision 20/20 and CPSE that identifies the resources available from each organization, and others, that relate to CRR and CRA. This provides a common ground between the organizations. Be sure to check out the free resources available from Vision 20/20, including:
Guide to Community Risk Assessment
Community Risk Reduction Planning
A State Guide to Supporting Community Risk Reduction Programs
AIOA Virtual Training/Networking
The next Arizona Information Officers Association hosted event will be late April/early May. Look for details in the Arizona PIOs Facebook group in the coming weeks. Not part of that group - join now.
National Fire Academy
Community Risk Reduction Curriculum - National Fire Academy courses, catalogs and schedules. Review the full outline.
PIO Courses
Online Independent Study Training for PIO's through FEMA. Head here to scroll through the list of classes or search by title. FEMA has restructured their PIO course offerings. The new Public Information Basics (0105) full course description can be found through the PIO Training button below.
PIO Contact List
There is a statewide PIO contact list. The list is divided into multiple tabs representing jurisdictional levels (city, county, federal, state and tribes) and specialties (law enforcement, fire, schools, utilities, etc).
The PIO list is a great resource because you help keep it accurate. If you would like the list and/or need to help make edits please contact the PIO Office.